A Greener Eph: Editorials

Not one but two editorials grace the pages of the Record this week from the Thursday Night Group.

College skimps on sustainability: Giving the College a D for not letting Vitamin D do its thing

In a letter to the Williams community on Jan. 24, 2007, President Schapiro declared sustainability to be a “guiding principle” for the College, going on to say, “we need to honor that principle in all that we do.” One very important component of this promise involves more stringent efforts to incorporate renewable power into new building projects. Yet while Williams continues to vocalize its commitment to such projects, it does not appear to be doing all it can to put its money where its mouth is.

And the second one:

Increasing engagement: Implementing lessons learned in D.C. at the College


November 14, 2007 Edition Nov 16, 2007

Increasing engagement: Implementing lessons learned in D.C. at the College
Morgan Goodwin - Contributing Writer

“I never let school interfere with my education,” Mark Twain once said. Now, school’s a pretty important part of learning, but you’re wasting Williams’ resources if you don’t connect classroom learning with the real opportunities around us. We should be creative and brave in order to bring our academic lives to bear on the activities that are important to us.

Thirteen Williams students attended Power Shift 2007, the first national youth climate conference in Washington, D.C., last weekend along with 6000 other students from all 50 states. Every one of us took away valuable lessons that could not have been learned in the classroom here. The conference had panel discussions on challenging racism, how to develop effective messaging and the first-hand effects of climate change in New Orleans and Alaska. We did workshops on anti-oppression work, media strategy and the dirty life cycle of coal. Four thousand students lobbied the capitol on Monday, Nov. 5, learning how to speak to congressmen and what pressures influence our government.

Not a bad week.